The Citizen Potawatomi Nation’s Cultural Heritage Center provides resources to keep the Tribe’s history safe and accessible for generations to come. One key way the Nation does this is through the CHC’s archives and video interviews. To highlight some of the archive’s holdings, the Hownikan is featuring photographs and family history of every founding Citizen Potawatomi family. If interested in assisting preservation efforts by providing copies of Citizen Potawatomi family photographs, documents and more, and to schedule family interviews, please contact the CHC at 405-878-5830.
Roots in Michigan
The origins of the Nadeau family began in Michigan with the marriages of two brothers to two sisters. Cyprian and Bozellle Nadeau married the Tetreau sisters, making their children double first cousins.
Cyprian Andrew married Mary M. Tetreau in 1840 in Montreal, Canada. They were the parents of Joseph Andrew, Henry, Pete and Mose.
Bozelle married Aurelia Tetreau on Feb. 11, 1855, in Niles, Michigan. They were the parents of Alfred J., Fannie, Belle, Bill, Andrew, Mary, Alieram (Alice) and Gilbert.
A slight alteration in the spelling of the last name was later made because cousins Joseph Nadeau and Gilbert Neddeau often had their Niles, Michigan, mail delivery mixed up. Both cousins would go on to marry Potawatomi allottees.
Unrest in Indiana, Kansas
As westward expansion increased, railroad companies and the federal government eyed Native land, pushing the Potawatomi and other Indigenous people off their ancestral lands. Eventually, the Treaty of 1837 forced the Potawatomi in Indiana to give up their lands in exchange for a reservation in Kansas.
They moved to the Osage River reserve in Kansas from 1837 to the early 1840s. The Treaty of 1847 then forced the Potawatomi to move from the Osage River Reserve to a new location north and east of the Kansas River. Members of the Nadeau family were among those in June of 1848 helping to establish a new site for the Catholic Mission of St. Marys.
When Kansas became a state in 1861, squatters and railroad companies again targeted Potawatomi lands. The U.S. government began its final push to remove the Potawatomi from Kansas to Indian Territory. The Treaty of 1867 certified the purchase of allotments and surplus lands in exchange for approximately $150,000. The Potawatomi used the funds to acquire a reservation in Indian Territory, and the government sold the Kansas allotments to the railroad.
The allotments of 1872 and 1887 marked the beginnings of the modern-day Citizen Potawatomi Nation. Among the Nadeaus in Kansas who were listed on the 1887 Oklahoma allotments were David B. Nadeau and his children, John, Florence and Julia Ann; Peter A. Nadeau and his wife, Madeline, and their children, Eli, Alexis, Rose Ann and Isidore; Alexander P. Nadeau; his sister, Mary Nadeau Ford and her children, Emma, Lula, William, Ida Ford James, Alice Ford Slavin and Benjamin Ford; and Alice Nadeau Barshaw (Bergeron) and her children, Willis, Irvin, Gilbert, Otto, Nora and Robert.
Over the next 20 years, families and individuals gradually made the move from Kansas to central Oklahoma. The journey itself was dangerous, and families who arrived found nothing but empty prairies. Members of the Nadeau family who arrived in Oklahoma had to clear large acreages by hand and establish infrastructure, homes and farms.
Creating a Home in Indian Territory
Joseph Nadeau married Sarah Catherine Tescier on Jan. 7, 1884, in Sarah’s mother’s home in Shawnee, Oklahoma. They were the parents of Vincent, Lillian, William, Ray, Joseph and Nila.
Sarah received an 1887 Citizen Potawatomi allotment. Joseph and Sarah cleared the 80-acre allotment for farming and had two oxen they used to pull the wagon, remove stumps and for plowing. Her descendants still own portions of her allotment today and many of them continue to reside in the area.
Family members recall that Joseph, Sarah and other family members would host barn dances. “Grandpa Joe” was also known to sneak off to Maud to play stickball with his Seminole friends.
Joseph died on May 28, 1950, in Shawnee, Oklahoma. Sarah died on May 5, 1952, in Shawnee. They were both buried in Resthaven Cemetery in Shawnee.
Gilbert Neddeau came to Wanette, Oklahoma, in 1888. He married Amanda Toupin Martel on May 7, 1899, at Sacred Heart Mission in Oklahoma Territory. Amanda, a Potawatomi allottee, was the widow of Jerome Lewis Martel. She was only three when she and her parents left St. Marys, Kansas, to settle in what was known as the Adel community in Indian Territory. Later, she lived in Wanette.
Amanda and her first husband had four children named William, Ethel, Arthur and Louis Theresa. Together, Gilbert and Amanda had eight children: Eva Cecilia (Duck), May Arilla, Olive Katherine, Albert Joseph, Evelyn Marjorie (Jet), Gilbert Aloysius (Gib), Leroy Bernard and Robert (Bob) Russell.
In 1906, the family moved south of Shawnee to the present site of Indian Agency. In 1918, they resided at 624 N. Dorothy in Shawnee. Gilbert worked for the Santa Fe Railroad and the family attended St. Benedict’s Catholic Church.
The wedding of Gilbert and Amanda’s daughter, May, to Elmer (Cap) Fairchild was on Nov. 24, 1927, and was noted in the society column of the Shawnee News-Star: “Wedding Miss Neddeau and Mr. Fairchild Today: One of the most interesting events of Thanksgiving day in Shawnee was the wedding of Miss Mae Aurilla Neddeau to Mr. Elmer Eugene Fairchild which took place at the home of the bride’s sister, Mrs. James A. (Theresa) Bailey and Mr. Bailey on North Pottenger street at 11 o’clock. Rev. Father Boniface of St. Benedict’s Catholic church performing the ceremony.”
Gilbert died at home on May 2, 1942, in Shawnee. He was buried May 4, 1942, in Tecumseh Cemetery. Amanda died on Jan. 27, 1964, and was buried in Tecumseh Mission Cemetery with six of her grandsons as pallbearers.
The Nadeau family, from their early years in Michigan, overcame unfathomable challenges in Kansas and Oklahoma. From these foundations, they have built a rich legacy for their descendants and generations yet to come.
If interested in assisting preservation efforts by providing copies of Citizen Potawatomi family photographs, documents and more, and to schedule family interviews, please contact the CHC at 405-878-5830. Schedule interviews online at portal.potawatomi.org. Learn more about the Family Reunion Festival at cpn.news/festival, and find research resources online at potawatomiheritage.com.